Diagnosed with Pancreatitis today. Home treatment?

[NatesHuman]

As some of you may be aware, Nate has been having a rough go as of late, diagnosed with diabetes last week. He continued to eat less and less. I took him back to the vet yesterday and demanded Nate be tested forPancreatitis, even though his initial blood work showed he did not have it. The vet said there is a more thorough, specific Pancreatitis test that they send to an outside lab, so we did that.

Well, results came back today and he tested positive... While I hate that Buddy Boy is sick, I am glad we finally got an answer for why he wouldn't eat. He was given fluids yesterday and responded great! Happiest I have seen him in a couple weeks! We asked about home treatment and she basically said all we can do is give him anti-nausea meds and appetite stimulants. Other than that we need to keep bringing him back for fluids intravenously.

I have spent a small fortune at this point and I simply can't afford to keep bringing him to the vet for fluids. Is there a home alternative to this? Do any of you give your kitties fluids intravenously at home?

I've been reading many cats with Pancreatitis require pain meds. Should I request some for Nate? Are there any other medications I should ask my vet about?

Do any of you have any suggestions for home/cost effective treatment?

As always, thank you so much!

 

[Sharon14]

Sorry for the diagnosis, but at least you now know the problem and can address it! You can give subQ fluids at home to help Nate get through a pancreatitis attack. Along with anti nausea, appetite stimulant and learning to syringe feed, pain meds will probably be necessary. I’ll tag @Carol & Murphy to give more insight.

 

[Carol & Murphy (GA)]

Hi Nate's human - sorry about the pancreatitis and diabetes diagnosis and everything
It's extremely stressful at first, but soon becomes manageable
Is Nate on insulin yet? Are you home testing? In any case, it is extremely important that Nate eat
regarding pancreatitis : the staples of treatment are pain management (buprenorphine most commonly) , cerenia, ondansetron (for nausea) and an appetite stimulant - I use cyproheptadine but there are others - and subQ fluids (Ringers Lactate)
SQ fluids are frequently given at home- for kitties with chronic renal insufficiency and other things (including pancreatitis) It's not very hard and there is no need to go to the vet to have it done - you just have to learn how to do it - there are step by step instructions at this site

Here's a link to a primer on pancreatitis that gives lots of good information - also check out the pancreatitis info at ibdkitties.net

You need to get the buprenorphine, cerenia and ringers lactate and supplies from the vet, and the ondansetron and cyproheptadine are human meds that you get with a prescription at a pharmacy. After you get through this initial episode, there are cheaper places to get the meds and supplies (ie Chewy and others) So I'd hurry to get the meds /fluids today while the vet is open